Victorinox AG - Mid 20th-Century Rise to Prominence

Mid 20th-Century Rise to Prominence

In 1937, the Forschner Butcher Scale Company of New Britain, Connecticut, began importing Victorinox butcher knives. American buyers were not introduced to Swiss Army Knives en masse, however, until they were sold at overseas army bases after World War II. Forschner was also a venerable family-owned business, founded in 1855. Swiss Army knives replaced butcher scales in its product lineup after it was sold in 1957.

So compact were the knives that appendages often served more than one function. For example, in 1951 Victorinox received a patent for its new can opener, which was said to work easily and not leave ragged edges. The end of the can opener had been fashioned into a small screwdriver blade. (One un-stated function that had always been included with screwdriver blades was that they spared the knife blades from being ruined in prying open containers or twisting screws loose.) Victorinox also made the knife lighter by using aluminum alloy rather than nickel and silver in the separators.

In 1960, the KGB and Soviet press mulled over a Swiss Army knife, among the ingenious Western spy equipment found on Francis Gary Powers when his U2 was downed over Russia. Victorinox maintained an enduring relationship with pilots, who had a natural affinity for compact, lightweight devices. One aviator even reported using his Swiss Army knife to free himself from burning wreckage. The knives would later be carried aboard the space shuttle.

Forschner became the exclusive Victorinox distributor for the United States in 1972. This was documented formally in 1983. Forschner was sold again in 1974, to investor Louis Marx, Jr., who sold the knives through mass-market retailers instead of just outdoor supply stores. The company went public in 1981; one signifi-cant investor was Charles Elsener, president of Victorinox.

In 1976, Victorinox began supplying the Germany army with pocket knives—sporting a German eagle rather than the Swiss cross. After the United States, Germany was the firm's biggest market.